City comparison
Dallas, TX is about 800 miles (1,300 km) from Rockford, IL in a straight line. By road, the drive is roughly 950 miles, or about 16 hours behind the wheel at highway speeds.
Driving distance is a rough estimate (great-circle × 1.25); driving time assumes a 60 mph blended average. Real trips run 10–20% longer with stops.
A direct flight from Dallas, TX to Rockford, IL takes about 1 h 33 min, covering roughly 800 miles in a straight line. Connecting itineraries with a layover typically add 1–3 hours.
Block-to-block estimate at ~500 mph cruise, including taxi, climb, and descent — what an airline would publish, not pure airborne time.
Dallas has a population of 1,300,642, vs 148,173 in Rockford — about 8.8× larger by population. By land area, Dallas covers about 340 sq mi vs 65 sq mi for Rockford.
Population from US Census ACS. Land area from the Census Gazetteer (city proper, excluding inland water).
Cost indices by category, with the US city average (100) marked.
Index: 100 = US city average. Lower is more affordable.
Side-by-side costs, salaries, and sub-category indices.
| Metric | Dallas | Rockford | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,305/mo | $906/mo | 44.0% higher in Dallas |
| Median home value | $270,700 | $114,100 | 137.2% higher in Dallas |
| Median household income | $63,985 | $50,744 | 26.1% higher in Dallas |
| Groceries index | 101.7 | 93.9 | 8.4% higher in Dallas |
| Utilities index | 89.3 | 89.6 | ≈ equal (Rockford slightly higher) |
| Transportation index | 98.5 | 99.3 | 0.8% higher in Rockford |
| Healthcare index | 99.7 | 99.5 | ≈ equal (Dallas slightly higher) |
How much you'd need to earn in the other city to keep the same standard of living.
If you earn $100,000 in Dallas, you'd need $80,455 in Rockford to maintain your standard of living.
Climate, safety, and demographics side by side.
Rockford, IL is about 19.5% cheaper overall than Dallas, TX, based on our cost-of-living index. Housing costs are roughly 66% higher in Dallas than in Rockford. If you earn $80,000 in Dallas, you'd need about $64,364 in Rockford to keep the same standard of living.